An Angelic Whisper
by Tazski
Summary: Yuzuru Otonashi is a promising medical student, studying at the University of Tokyo after moving there with his family. But when he meets the mysterious Kanade Tachibana, he swears he knows her. Even weirder, she knows him, too. And weirdest of all, his group of friends nicknamed BATTLEFRONT ALL seem to know each other... Can they rediscover the secrets of their pasts and reunite?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello guys, I just finished watching Angel Beats! this morning (and cried my eyes out, of course, so I wouldn't reccommend reading this unless you've seen all 13 episodes) and decided to write a 'continuation' of everyone's lives after their dissapearances and their return to the real world, since I've only ever written Bleach and Fairy Tail and want to do something new for a change. It'll be quite emotion-centered and the journey of how even time cannot change bonds as trong as friendship.**

**This is my first story for Angel Beats! and feel free to correct me if need be. Feedback/consctructive criticism/suggestions are welcome, as well as reviews. If you guys like this, please do let me know- consider this story a 'tester'. If you enjoy it, I WILL put up more. I guarantee you. As well as YuzuruxKanade fluff :3 (I absolutely ADORE this couple :D)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats! because if I did, Kanada and Yuzuru would have lived happily ever after T_T (who knows, maybe they did?)**

* * *

_He could feel the sweet whisper in his ear, calling to him, reaching out to him..._

'_Come, come, and spread out your wings...'_

'_Open them wide and touch the sky...'_

'_Fulfil your dreams, protect your heart,'_

'_Come fly with me, for evermore...' she whispered, before taking flight into the brilliant sunset._

_The bonds tying him to the twilight zone snapped, and his head broke the waters of unconsciousness._

Yuzuru slowly opened his eyes, focusing on the poster plastered to his ceiling. It depicted his favourite band- Girls Dead Monster- along with their tour dates for 2012. He had no idea why he liked such a band, since he was more into rock and metal, but there was something melodious, something kind about the lead vocalist, Iwasawa, that made him ponder for a second. Her words, her throbbing, poignant voice often reached into the depths of his heart and stirred all that was within. Sometimes, he could half recall a forgotten memory- as though there was something he had not been aware of, before it disappeared.

Sometimes, all Yuzuru needed was music to fill the hole where his heart should have been.

Yuzuru Otonashi was a medical miracle in itself. When he had been born 18 years ago, he had been feared to be a stillborn child- but due to some miracle or the other, he had been found to be alive, and well. Furthermore, he had been born without a heart.

Somehow, all his other organs and parts of his body functioned perfectly well, as though he indeed _did_ have a heart- but instead of where it should have been, was a big, gaping hole. Until today, nobody had been able to explain this phenomenon. Yuzuru often felt that his detachment to the world was due to his lack of a heart- as though he belonged someplace else.

"Onii-chan! OI! Onii-chan!" came a squeaky voice. As Yuzuru sat up in bed, a 12-year old girl with the same hair and eyes flew into the room, her eyes glistening, her smile wide. "Onii-chan, Mommy said you have to hurry up if you don't wanna be late! She said you'll get left behind!"

Yuzuru sighed, rolling his eyes, as he reached out and ruffled his sister's hair. "Hatsune, tell Mom, I'll be down in a minute, 'kay?"

"Okay, Onii-chan!" she exclaimed, running back out of the room, as Yuzuru smiled. He adored his little sister and felt very protective towards her- another mystery in itself. Every time he looked into her eyes, he could feel an unexplainable sadness welling up within him, followed by fear. Was he keeping her happy enough?

He sighed heavily, slinging his college bag over his shoulder, adjusting the strap so that it fit him, before taking one last glance at his untidy room and departing.

"Good luck on your first day, sweetie," his mother wished him, affectionately stroking his unruly hair into place, which he shook free almost immediately, to a chorus of sighs from his mother and sister.

"I'll be fine, Mom," he reassured her, smiling gently. "Take care, Hatsune, I'll buy you another manga on the way home, okay?"

"Okay, Onii-chan!" Hatsune responded happily, before running back inside. For some unfathomable reason, all Hatsune ever accepted from her brother were manga volumes; often the same ones, and ones that had different titles, and hence a different story. But if it made his little sister happy, Yuzuru himself was happy too.

"Sayonnara, minna-san," he called out, opening the apartment door and stepping out into the cool autumn wind.

Yuzuru's flat, magenta hair was long; longer than he had ever kept it, the tips brushing against his shoulders, long side bangs covering his left eye. He was dressed casually in a tight t-shirt and maroon chinos, a silver chain around his neck that had been given to him by Hatsune for his 16th Birthday. But his face today was filled with determination and pride; Yuzuru had passed the college entrance examinations not long ago and had come top, and he was now on his way to study for a major in Medicine at the prestigious University of Tokyo.

The hour-long bus journey was uneventful- sluggishly slow, to say the least. He knew that taking the train would have been infinitely easier, but for as long as he could remember, he had suffered from a morbid aversion to trains. Hence he avoided them as much as possible. Yuzuru glanced at his watch as the bus grounded to a sudden halt, a bus stop away from where he was supposed to get down.

"What's going on?"

"Where are we?"

"What happened?"

A gaggle of voices ensued, mostly confused, some outraged.

"Will you please settle down in your seats," came the crackly voice over the intercom. "I apologize for the delay, but we are currently experiencing a breakdown. A mechanic is scheduled to arrive in approximately half an hour, and thereafter we will arrive at the next bus stop in 15 minutes,"

_45 minutes? I don't have that much time! _Yuzuru thought, beginning to panic. His first lecture, the Induction lecture, was due to begin in half an hour. Looking outside, he decided that the best option would be to leg it. If he ran fast enough, he'd make it to the lecture theatre in time.

He clambered from his seat and made his way down the overcrowded aisle, to much mumbling and grumbling on the part of the passengers. Running as fast as he could, he made his way down the wide pavement, his feet splashing in the residue of last night's rain. He was so absorbed in getting to the lecture theatre on time that he didn't see a blue haired figure stood in front of him, chatting away on his phone...

_Crash._

The two boys fell backwards, complete with a duo of sickening _crunches_ as they hit their heads. Yuzuru got up, rubbing his head as it began to throb painfully, his eyes screwed up in pain.

"Aaaaah..." came the voice, presumably from the blue-haired boy. "You should be careful where you're walking!"

"Sorry...I didn't mean to..." Yuzuru stammered, helping the other boy up. "Are you okay?" he asked, as the boy dusted his clothes.

"Great, I guess...nothing's broken, so it's all good, eh?" he answered rather nervously, running his hands through his hair. "So what were you doing, running 200 miles an hour?"

"Oh? Me? Sorry, I was getting late for my first class..."

"Class?"

"I'm starting at University."

"That wouldn't happen to be the University of Tokyo, would it?" the boy asked, a light, mischievous tone in his voice. Yuzuru frowned a little, sensing that the voice was familiar. He was pretty sure he had heard it before...but where?

"Yeah," Yuzuru answered, smiling in relief. "I'm headed there right now,"

"Me too," the boy answered. "Oh, Hideki Hinata, by the way. And you are?" he continued, holding out his hand, which Yuzuru shook.

"Otonashi Yuzuru, pleasure to meet you."

Hinata remained silent for a moment, as soon as the magenta haired boy had revealed his name. _Otonashi..._ the name sounded darn familiar, but where from? As far as he knew, he hadn't ever met this boy before.

"Why do I get the feeling we've met before?" Yuzuru asked, curious.

"What? Really?" Hinata answered, feeling excited. Yuzuru could see that he was an excitable, easy-to-please person. He sensed that they would get along pretty well in the future.

"I guess so..."

"Perhaps it's because I'm such a famous baseball player, the amazing Hideki Hinata!" he announced with pomp, grinning widely.

"Oh, not again..." Yuzuru groaned, shaking his head. "Why do you _always_ say that?"

"What do you mean...always?" Hinata began slowly, confused. "We've only just met..."

_Did I really say that?_ Yuzuru mused to himself, smirking. _Why am I behaving like this guy's my best buddy all of a sudden? Perhaps it's because I've never really had many friends.._.

"Oh, uh...right, I was thinking about my friend back home," Yuzuru answered, rather sheepishly. "He was a rather terrible baseball player actually, always missing the fly balls..." his voice trailed off gently, as a confused Hinata continued to stare at him. He hadn't meant to say that, not at all...so why had he? He could feel a memory pulling towards the surface, but try as he might, he couldn't relive it fully. It involved a blue-haired boy, and a fly ball...

Had he met this boy before?

"Um, right, we should get going," Yuzuru gabbled, aware that he was making a bad impression. "Don't wanna be late and all,"

Hinata burst out into laughter, slapping his knee as he doubled up. "Oh, Otonashi-kun, always the comedian, aren't ya?"

"Always the comedian? Now I'm convinced you're doing this on _purpose_..." Yuzuru muttered, glaring at the boy.

"Doing what? I swear, it wasn't me!" Hinata exclaimed. "It sorta...just slipped out..." he said lamely. It was true though, somehow. He'd done just as Yuzuru had- behaving as though he'd known the guy for years.

But _why?_

The rest of the journey was uneventful, with the two boys exchanging likes and dislikes, talking about hobbies, interests, all that.

"You like Mapo Doufu? Are you _serious?_" Hinata exclaimed incredulously, his eyebrows raised, as they approached the institution. "You must be crazy!"

"I don't know," Yuzuru shrugged. "It's been my favourite food since I was a kid. Say, you wanna go play baseball later on?"

"Boy, do I ever! You okay with that?"

"Sure, bring friends along if you like. There's a large field really close to where I live; we can practice there."

"Meet here at 4?"

"4pm it is. See ya, Hinata," Yuzuru concluded as he began to walk away, raising his arm in farewell. Hinata did the same, acknowledging the other boy with a wave of his own as he began to walk in the opposite direction.

"Class 103B...103B...now where could that be..." Yuzuru muttered to himself, as he walked down the packed hallways, glancing at his watch every 5 minutes or so. "103B..."

He looked up, hoping for some guidance or help, and instead his eyes locked onto a young girl who looked much too young to be here, who was seated at the windowsill, the sunlight pouring onto her silvery white hair. She looked pure, innocent even, and Yuzuru could feel his eyes widen, the blush in his cheeks growing, as he took in the young girl's appearance. In that instant, Yuzuru knew that when she turned around, she would have bright golden eyes and a pale, emotionless, yet innocent expression on her face.

_How did he know that?_

As if on cue, she turned around to face him, her golden eyes locking onto his, her gaze inquisitive, yet probing.

"Tenshi..." he whispered gently, yet involuntarily.

_Angel._

* * *

**There ya go, Chapter 1. If you liked it, drop a review or something, and again, feel free to criticise/give feedbacks or suggestions. I'm open to them all. Remember, if you tell me you like this, there will be more :]**

**Till next time, folks!**

**~Tazski**


	2. Chapter 2

**I won't make this AN too long- but firstly I'd like to apologize for the late update. I've just had a lot to do, lately, but I shall try and deliver regular updates when and where possible. Also, 'A Mind of Ice, A Heart of Fire' readers, your update shall be next week. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday :) Again, sorry for the late update.**

**I'm amazed by the response I got for this story- I wasn't honestly expecting so much! 9 reviews! I've never got that for a first chapter, it's a new record. Still, I'm very glad, and it means a lot. Keep the reviews coming in, people! :]**

**I'm sorry if I haven't been able to reply to your reviews personally, as I usually do- but let it be known that I appreciate each and every one of them, and I want to express a heartfelt thankyou for them all. Normally, I'd write the name of every person who reviewed, subscribed, favourited or anything like that but I'm currently short on time. I'll do that soon, I promise :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats, merely the plot for this fanfiction.**

* * *

"Otonashi-kun. Otonashi-_kuuuuuuuun_. OI, BLOCKHEAD!"

Yuzuru 's senses jolted back to reality at the last exclamation. _Blockhead? _He turned around to see Hinata stood behind him, an exasperated expression on his face. _Wait, Hinata?_

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" Yuzuru asked, puzzled. "Didn't you just go off to class?"

"Finally, he speaks!" Hinata exclaimed, relieved. "Oh, and cancelled," he answered, grinning at the other boy.

"Cancelled? On the _first day?_"

"Yup. Well..." Hinata continued to speak as his voice faded into the background, whilst Yuzuru studied the silver-haired girl with growing apprehension. She'd turned away from him by now, reading a large textbook that was placed in her lap, her hair caressing her shoulders.

"Oi." This remark came from a plum-headed female, who followed it up by a loud snap of her fingers. Yuzuru looked down into her surprisingly deep, aqua eyes, frowning. _What did she want?_

"What?" he replied, rather abruptly.

"What you staring at?"

"Uh...nothing..."

"You sure?"

"Yes! I gotta dash to class, see yo-"

"Not so fast, hotshot." The girl grabbed his forearm with surprising strength, causing him to wince slightly as she did so. She had a fairly strong grip, actually.

"That girl there?" she spoke in a light tone, which hid a hint of menace underneath, flicking a thumb towards the silver-haired girl. "She's my sister. Well, technically, she lives next door to me and is like a real sister to me, but the point is, she's with me." The girl jabbed a thumb at herself before continuing. "You're more than welcome to approach Kanade-chan but I swear if you so much as _look _at her in the wrong way, you'll have _me_ to answer to. _Got that?_"

"And me!" another voice yelled. From behind the girl, a purple-headed male walked out, carrying what looked like a-

"That...that...you're not allowed to have that! You might hurt someone!" Hinata exclaimed, gesturing towards the giant, full-size axe that the boy was holding.

"Relax," the plum-headed girl replied, a hint of dark humour in her voice. "It's a fake. Noda carries it because...it boosts his self-esteem." And immediately, Yuzuru acknowledged that the female was the stronger one of the two. How he knew, he wasn't sure. But she carried herself with a certain authority and leadership that made it impossible to question who was in charge here. Something that felt distinctly familiar, yet _strange..._

The purple-headed boy, presumably Noda, spoke again, snapping Yuzuru out of his momentary reverie.

"I shall defend Yurippe with my life!" He exclaimed in what should have been a rather grand manner, but sounded incredibly cheesy instead. He raised his fake axe in what was supposed to be a heroic pose- but ended up clipping an unwary passer-by on the shoulder.

"Watch it, moron!" he shouted, grasping his shoulder in pain, whilst the female glared at him. Hinata rolled his eyes at Yuzuru as if to say, 'bonkers'. Yuzuru had to agree with him there.

"Idiot..." she muttered, before turning to the other two boys. "I'm Yuri, by the way. Nakamura Yuri. And this is Noda."

"Yeah, you mentioned him," Yuzuru replied, fighting back a laugh. "I'm Otonashi Yuzuru. And this is Hinata, um..." He'd forgotten.

Hinata Hideki, at your service!" he replied jovially, before adopting a more serious tone. "Um...is it okay if I call you Yurippe too?"

"Oh, why?" Yuri asked, curiosity tingeing her voice.

"Well, you see..." Hinata began, suddenly feeling everyone's stares on him and feeling distinctly uncomfortable, "My mother was called Yuri. And I...I don't really feel comfortable calling anyone else that, so..." his voice trailed off.

"Go ahead. It's okay," she smiled at him kindly, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, I could stand here talking to you guys all day. I gotta get to class. Maybe we could meet up later?"

"That sounds good," Yuzuru answered, nodding his head. "4pm? I already agreed to meet Hinata here later,"

"4pm's fine. I'll see you later, then," and with that, Yuri and Noda began to walk away off to their next class.

"Wow, that was...weird, wasn't it?" Hinata began, breaking the short silence. What he didn't say was how familiar and normal it had felt, compared to his encounters in the past. Hinata wasn't really one for making friends, due to his eccentric and slightly odd personality, but here he was, talking to Yuzuru and the others as if he'd known them all his life and as though this was perfectly _normal._ It felt weird, new, yet it felt right at the same time. As if it was meant to be.

"Yeah, I suppose," Yuzuru answered rather absentmindedly, looking around for the silver-haired girl who by now, had disappeared, presumably to her next class.

"Who ya looking for?" Hinata asked, a smirk breaking out across his face. "You're looking for _Kanade-chan _aren't you- hey! Stop that!" Yuzuru had clipped him across the head with his briefcase, laughing at the state of the other boy. "That was _mean_!" he complained.

"No, you fully deserved that,"

"Admit it though, you have the hots for Kanade-chan!"

"I do not!" Yuzuru retorted, blushing slightly. Wait..._blushing?_ Why was he _blushing? _Plenty of girls had tried to claim his attention at his old school, insisting that his long, magenta hair was 'tres cute' and practically drooling over him...ew. He'd never really been interested in a girl.

_Until now._

Wait. Was that what it was? It felt more like a deep...connection. Something that words like 'interested' or 'crush' couldn't even begin to describe. A deep bond. Yuzuru shook his head slightly, sighing, before glancing at his watch.

"Buddy, I gotta go..." he said, glancing at Hinata, who was still babbling at top speed. "I'm incredibly late, as it is!" And with that, he took off at a run, sprinting the length of the corridor, leaving a confused Hinata behind, before skidding to a halt outside class 103B.

"Well, here goes..." Yuzuru muttered to himself, before stepping inside.

* * *

Class, as it turned out, was highly uneventful- it consisted largely of introductions and basics, most of which he understood. Yet, whilst stepping out of class, he felt largely tired, and _bored- _he felt as though he'd spent way more time in the classroom than he should have. Keeping to his word, he met Hinata, Yuri and Noda at the gates at 4pm sharp. They were accompanied by the silver-haired girl- Kanade- and another boy, who looked her age, with chin-length dark green hair, and amber eyes.

"Otonosahi-_kuuuuuuuuuuun!_" Hinata yelled, waving his arms about madly as Yuzuru came into view. Nuts, he thought. But Hinata's personality, however weird it was, was strangely infecting- and he found himself smiling as he walked up to the group.

"Hi everyone," Yuzuru greeted the group, avoiding Kanade-chan's probing stare. The boy seemed to be giving him a rather strange look too, but he ignored it for the time being.

Yuri was the first to reply, and launched into introductions straight away, as she was wont to do.

"Guys, this is Hinata Hideki and Otonashi Yuzuru. You two, you met Noda already, and this is Tachibana Kanade and her un-identical and moronic half-brother, Naoi Ayato."

"I'm not a moron!" Naoi exclaimed, his voice surprisingly lighter than of the other males. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Otonashi-san," he said cordially, ignoring Hinata, who'd been jabbering on for the last 10 minutes.

"Hey, what about me?" Hinata protested.

"You're a moron."

"Why, you-"

"Enough!" Yuri commanded, raising her arms. "Stop yammering at each other like a pair of angry sheep!"

"It's nice to meet you, Otonashi-kun," Kanade replied quietly, her voice melodious and somewhat fitting to her name. Hearing the voice froze Yuzuru momentarily; somehow it felt completely familiar yet completely alien at the same time. Unbidden, the same voice came into his head once more, but had multiplied, layer upon layer- and carried a tone that plunged fear inside of him that he hadn't felt before.

_Guard skill: Distortion._

In that moment, he decided that Kanade could be lethal- even if her innocent voice didn't betray her hidden emotions. He'd have to be wary around her from now on.

Involuntarily, he flinched- only to recover and find everyone's eyes on him, largely amused.

"Was that a dance move or something?" Hinata commented, giggling madly.

"Even T.K could learn a thing from him or two," Naoi teased, whilst Yuzuru glared at him. "N-No, Otonashi-san, I didn't mean that! Not at all!"

"Uh...okay..." Yuzuru replied, unnerved by Naoi's sudden devotion to him. "And uh, Kanade, please call me Yuzuru,"

"As you wish," she answered.

"Well, shall we get going or shall I wait for you morons to finish throwing jibes at each other?" Yuri commanded in a low tone, her eyes glinting dangerously. Yuzuru immediately decided that he wouldn't want to be on her bad side.

"Uh, okay..."

"Where _are_ we going, anyway?" Yuri asked.

"To a baseball field near my house. Is that okay with everyone?" They all answered in the affirmative. "Guess that's settled, then,"

"Hey, Otonashi-kun," Hinata called out. "Is it okay if I go home and get changed into my baseball gear first?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll have to go home and get my stuff too, before we can practise. Is that okay with you all?"

Again, they all answered in the affirmative.

_Robots, the lot of them... _Yuzuru thought to himself, shaking his head. The thought almost made him laugh, but he stopped himself in time- lest someone question him again.

It didn't take long to reach Hinata's apartment, which was close by to where he and Yuzuru had first met. The rest of the group milled around in the slightly dusty living room whilst Hinata traipsed off to get his baseball gear.

"Uh, I'm sorry about the state of my place...I only moved here a few days ago," Hinata apologised, taking in everyone's distinctly uncomfortable stares. "An aunty of mine is coming over tomorrow to clean the place up."

"It's fine," Yuzuru assured him. "We really should go; I have to stop by at my place too. And of course, my mom will want to interrogate you all,"

"Interrogate?" came the chorus.

"Will you stop doing that? It gets on my nerves..." he muttered audibly.

"Sorry, Otonashi-san!" Naoi exclaimed once more, bowing down.

"Um...you don't need to do that...what I meant was, my mom will want to meet you all. Well, let's go, shall we?" he offered, speaking quickly. The group were all too pleased to be leaving Hinata's dusty apartment.

They continued to walk down the now darkening streets, chatting amicably about past, present, and future plans. There was a lot to say between the group- the atmosphere wasn't strained, as it usually would be when a group of people got together for the first time, but rather relaxed, as though it was natural. Only Kanade remained silent as the others chattered away.

"So, Kanade," Yuzuru asked, noticing the girl's silence. "How was your first day?"

"It was fine, thankyou," she replied. "What about y-"

Her voice was cut off by an audible _smash,_ followed by the telltale tinkling of glass as it hit the pavement. As Yuzuru looked around to ascertain the source of the sound, he happened to catch sight of the window of the house in front of him- and his jaw dropped open. The window, though still fully intact, had a large, gaping hole, the size of a baseball, in it. A baseball that only one person had been carrying with them. Which was now gone.

"Oh..._shit_..." Hinata gasped, looking up at the hole, bat still raised in his right hand. "I honestly didn't mean to...oh _shit!_"

"What have you _done,_ Hinata? Nobody told you to go swinging your bat around like an idiot!" Yuri snarled.

"What the _hell_? It was an accident, okay?" Hinata shouted back.

"Woah...that's one heck of a hole!" This last remark came from Naoi, which everyone ignored. They were getting used to him by now.

Hinata seemed visibly scared, fearing the wrath of the occupant of the house. It was terraced- redbricked, and looked fairly wealthy to begin with. He couldn't even begin to think how expensive that window might have been.

"Oh _no..."_ he groaned.

"Well, the damage is done!" Yuri replied, cross. "Go and apologise, and hope the owner will forgive you. Although I doubt it...I heard the people round here are _really_ fussy when it comes to their precious homes..."

"Yuri, you're not helping," Yuzuru said in a low undertone. She ignored him. Hinata hung his head in shame, and began to walk up the path leading to the house, which had the number '21' inscribed on the door. He'd made a mistake, and he needed to rectify it.

"Oh, and guys?" Hinata said, turning around once more. "Carry on without me. I'll see you later. Otonashi-kun, give me your address?" He did, and Hinata turned back around and sidled up to the door, afraid.

Gulping, he took a deep breath, and knocked on the door, terrified of what would happen next.

* * *

**There you go :P I hope you liked that. Instead of introducing everyone all together, I'm going to introduce the characters slowly, when and where appropiate. This will avoid confusion, I hope.**

**Hopefully I'll get Chapter 3 up very soon- next week, or so. Don't forget to drop a review with your thoughts, comments and any criticism. All is welcome :)**

**Till next time!**

**Tazski.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm sorry this chapter is so short, I just wanted this to focus on Hinata and his meeting with...well, whoever answered the door ;) I promise the other characters will make an appearance next time.**

**So, I'd like to thank the following people: Guest, 12, xXDemonCupcakeXx (twice), Flandre NightShade Scarlet, InTheShadowsOfHeros (twice), Kiddosbigworld, wilson, LTA, flubble-ninjaFT, HarryEyeball, Master of Ice and Wuji Grey, I'm having an identity crisis, animeawesome, AnimeSilent, Hyourinmaru165, JessTalksAlot, Maict, mockingbird-manikin, Runesplash and niyahtwins for reviewing and/or subscribing. Thankyou all!**

**Onwards with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats!**

* * *

Hinata only had to knock once before the door was answered by a short, plump woman with kind eyes and long, brown hair.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.

"Urm...err...uhm...I, uh..." Hinata began, extremely nervous, scratching his head all the while, confusing the woman.

"Sorry," he continued. "I, uhm...broke that window by accident..." He jabbed a finger at the upper floor window, his voice trailing off as he braced himself the incoming onslaught.

The woman's eyes followed the trail of his finger, coming to rest at a large, fist-sized hole in the middle of her window. She turned back to look at the blue-headed male, and raised her eyebrows.

_Kami-sama, if you're out there somewhere...save me..._ he thought, screwing his eyes up.

His eyes flew open as he heard a tinkling laughter. It took him a moment to realise that it was coming from the brown-haired woman, and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of her.

_Uh...is she going mad? I guess Yurippe's comment from earlier was actually an understatement, after all..._

"Don't worry about it," she was saying. "I've been trying to get that window broken for Kami knows how long,"

"So... you're not mad at me?" Hinata asked, a tense edge to his voice.

"Of course not!"

The exclamation had Hinata feeling visibly relieved. But...

"Why would you _want_ to have your window broken?"

The woman looked deep in thought as she answered. "Well, if I'd done it myself...it might have been obvious to the insurance company, you see," she explained, as Hinata continued to look puzzled. "If you look closely, that window doesn't open out at all. My daughter can't feel the fresh air from her room at all, and I can't afford to get a new one,"

"Oh, I see..." Hinata replied, as realisation dawned on him.

"Since you've done me and favour and all...you better come inside for a bit," she offered.

"Oh..no, I couldn't, I really have to-"

"I'm sure my daughter would want to meet the person who just made her life easier,"

"I-it was nothing.."

"Please do come in...what was your name?"

"Um...Hinata Hideki,"

"Do come in, Hinata-kun," She insisted, and the look on her face was so pleading, that even Hinata couldn't refuse.

'_Well, it can't hurt to meet the girl, I guess,' _Hinata thought, as he walked inside.

"Just through here," the woman said, directing Hinata through an open door. His first sight was of a girl with bubblegum pink hair and matching eyes gazing earnestly at the TV, as if yearning to join the dancing figures on screen. With some interest, Hinata realised that a replay of the last concert of his favourite band, Girls Dead Monster, was playing.

_The starry sky is the best stage,_

_The crows loudly caw,_

_I always wonder when am I sleeping,_

_I'll find a way too,_

_I'll sing a song for you,_

_Shout out that rock!_

"I'll sing with the crows," Hinata finished, recognising the song, before realising that the girl had been singing along with him.

"You like this song too?" she asked him, her voice weak. It was only then he realised that she hadn't moved an inch the whole time. _Was she ill or something? _He thought.

"It's one of my favourites," he admitted, smiling.

"I didn't know guys were into GDM too,"

"Oh, it's just me and a friend," he replied, referring to Otonashi.

"What's your name?" she asked, curious.

"Um...Hinata Hideki. What about you?"

"I'm Yui."

"Nice to meet you, Yui,"

"It's good to meet you too," Hinata replied. "So, how many of these songs have you actually heard?"

"All of them, I believe,"

"Have you been to any of the concerts?"

Yui's smiling face instantly turned to one of sorrow, and the corners of her mouth drooped. "I can't," she whispered.

"Can't?" Now Hinata was feeling genuinely worried. "Why not?"

"I..." she began, hesitating. "I was paralyzed by an accident when I was 8. I haven't been able to move at all since then."

Hinata's eyes widened in shock at the revelation. "Not...at _all_?"

"It's been nearly 9 years," she confessed.

"I...I didn't know...I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologise...baka," she laughed, smiling once more, before sighing contentedly. "It's been a while since I called anyone that, actually,"

"What? Baka?"

"You see, it's just me and my mom who live here," she said. "And I can hardly call her a baka, can I?"

"I guess so..." Hinata said, scratching his head again. "So what about school and stuff?"

"I'm home schooled, although I can't actually do any work," she admitted sullenly. "My teachers are so stupid, I don't even see the _point_ of all this! It's not like I'll be able to _do _anything with what I learn," she growled, looking fierce for a second, before reverting back to her original state. Hinata immediately got the impression that she could be scary if she wanted to be.

"This...paralysis of yours," he began, gulping. "Can't anything be done about it?"

"It can, of course," Yui answered, sighing. "But the cure's quite recent and incredibly expensive. We wouldn't be able to afford it even if we sold everything we had,"

"Oh... what's it like, staying at home?"

"Incredibly _dull_," she muttered, emphasising on 'dull'. "All I do is eat, drink, sleep and watch TV. And learn junk, of course. Did you do that, by the way?" she asked, glancing at the now-broken window.

"Yes...but it was sort of an accident, but it doesn't matter. Your mother told me why that was a good thing," he answered, smiling wryly.

"I'll finally have a proper window, after all these years," Yui said, her face lighting up in genuine happiness. "Arigatou... Hinata-kun,"

"Oh, erm...just call me Hinata. And it was nothing," he added. He had to admit that she looked incredibly cute when she smiled like that, though. Unwillingly, and unbidden, he found himself somehow promising that he wanted to make her smile like that again. A blush crept up to his cheeks at the thought, and he almost slapped himself for it.

_What the hell, you just met her!_

"Umm...I...well, I have to go," Hinata gabbled, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "It..it was nice meeting you, Yui," and with that, he turned to leave, before a voice stopped him.

"Will you come back next time, Hinata?"

Hinata turned around to look at the pleading girl, her rosy eyes wide. He smiled once before answering.

"I promise,"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Not sure what this chapter was meant to accomplish, haha :p but ah, well. I'm sorry it took so long, I just needed a bit of thinking time..not sure if it turned out well or not. I just needed something to fill the gaps, but things will now heat up ;)**

**Ugh, this chapter is way too short...I'm sorry :(**

**Oh, and I was correcting a typo earlier, and accidently re-uploaded a chapter of my Bleach fanfic instead...thankyou to Ranko for pointing it out to me, and sorry for the inconvenience! **

**I'd like to thank the following people: Ewakjones, Twilight-Destruction, snipercat12, Kenny445, Daisuke Igarashi, Lost Guy, juvenual, Automail-gHost, Magikidd, wamakima5004, Drake The Gunner, lenaxpert, Vixen's Shadow, Kage no Ryunin, CCHHRRIISS, OverexposedCat, Tobipizza, InTheShadowOfHeros, Master Of Ice And Wuji Grey, I'm having an identity crisis, xXDemonxCupcakeXx, Misaka 20.001, CoCo-Chan, and ClaudeMoon for reviewing/subscribing. Gosh, you guys really are amazing :) and thankyou! Keep the reviews coming in :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats!**

* * *

Hinata walked home, his minds plagued by the thoughts of the earlier incident. For some imperceptible reason, he couldn't get rid of the image of the pink-haired girl, her gentle face breaching his train of thought, so much so that he didn't hear the voice calling out to him.

"Hinata! HINATA! OI, STONEHEAD!" Yuzuru shouted out to him from his top-floor window. It was only then that Hinata looked up, a curious frown on his face.

"Whaaaaaaaaat?" he shouted back, as loudly as he dared. Yuzuru face palmed.

"I said get up here!"

"Okay!"

"Where the hell have you been, Hinata?" Yuri asked, as Hinata perched himself on Yuzuru's bed, yawning. "And don't yawn at me!"

"In case you forgot, I kinda broke a window, remember?"

"Let me guess, she yelled at you, called you a moron, and chased you out of her house with a broom yelling 'overgrown dingbat!' right?" Naoi commented, his voice brimming with excitement.

"No she didn't, you _idiot_," Hinata replied, sticking his tongue out.

"Otonashi-san!" Naoi exclaimed desperately. "See, he's bullying me! Do something!"

Yuzuru shook his head in contempt. "Stop it, the pair of you-"

"_Actually_, she thanked me for breaking her window and called me inside!" Hinata retorted.

"That's a lie!" Naoi shouted.

"No it isn't!"

"Yuzuru! Yuzuru-kun! Do you want anything to eat?" A magenta coloured bob popped through the doorway.

"No Mom, we're fine, stop asking!" Yuzuru called out to her, sighing in exasperation.

"I think your mom's adorable," Yuri said.

"Irritating as-"

"She's so sweet, isn't she?" Naoi gushed.

"Yeah, I wish I had a mom like that!" Noda answered. "She's way nicer than that freak over there!" he shouted, pointing at Yuzuru, who promptly stood up.

"Well, nobody told you to come here!"

"I will follow Yurippe to the ends of the earth, defend her with all my might, even lay down my life for her sake, her wish is my command!"

"Noda, will you do me a favour?" Yuri asked, a serious look on her face. 5 pairs of eyes turned around to look at her.

"Yes ma'am, you need only ask!"

"Will you seriously do it?"

"Of course!" He answered, tingling with pride. Whatever she needed doing, he would do it without hesitation. Especially if the command turned out to be flinging Yuzuru through a window and beating him up with his axe 100 times.

"Well, Noda, I want you to...Shut. Your. Mouth," Yuri replied, her eyebrow arched.

"Wh..wh-"

She raised a finger. "No speaking till we get outta here.

"I'm impressed," Hinata said. "You managed to shut him up just like that?"

"I have my ways," she said cryptically, shrugging. "Hey, Yuzuru, can I borrow your computer?"

"Sure, why not," he answered. She bounded over to the computer, and typing a few random words and with a few clicks, a blank screen came up.

"Damn, it's no use," she snarled. "I'll have to call him here,"

"Call who?" four voices (excluding Noda) asked.

"Okay, we really need to stop doing that," Yuzuru spoke, an odd look on his face. Everyone, except Noda burst out laughing.

"You'll see," Yuri replied, a knowing look on her face.

* * *

"_He's_ a genius hacker?" Hinata asked, pointing a finger at the young boy, who wore square glasses and had a pudding bowl haircut. "But he's just a boy!"

"Say hello to Takeyama-kun, everyone," Yuri said loudly, ignoring Hinata. They all obliged.

"Thank you. And please, call me Chr-"

"Can you hack into this email account for me?" Yuri asked, ignoring Takeyama's comment. He sighed at the ignorance, before replying in the affirmative.

"Why do you want to hack into an email account?" Yuzuru asked, interested. "And why use _my _computer?"

She shrugged before answering. "It's for my dad. He doesn't know this stuff...so he asked me. He wants proof that his business rival is making illegal shipments or something. And well... my dad's being monitored closely for any suspicious activity, so I have to do this from somewhere...else,"

"Okay...I suppose, but what if the police come and find me or something?"

"They won't." This time it was Kanade who answered. "I know exactly what to do."

"You know this?" Yuzuru asked Kanade, surprised. She smiled gently.

"My father was an expert hacker himself," she answered simply.

"Kanade's father was one of the best," Yuri replied, before taking Yuzuru to one side and whispering in his ear. "But he's doing lifetime in prison for money laundering and stuff like that. We'd have asked Kanade to do it for us, but she's reluctant, after what happened."

"Oh...I see," Yuzuru replied, astonished. Who knew such an innocent girl could have such a past.

"But she knows how to mask the IP or whatever and fancy stuff like that. That's Takeyama's weak point, I believe."

Kanade got up onto the computer and typed away for a few minutes, before confirming a success with a nod.

"Yes!" Yuri hissed, pumping her fist. "We'll get him this time!"

"Congratulations," Hinata replied. Yuzuru simply stared at them all.

"What?" They all replied together (excluding Noda, of course)

"Nothing," he laughed, shaking his head. All his life he'd struggled in making friends. How had he made six in the same day? It was beyond him, and he didn't really want to question it.

The others were talking amongst themselves, when Kanade came over and sat besides Yuzuru on the bed. He couldn't help but smile at her. Out of all the friends he had made, it was this girl that he felt the strongest connection to. Looking into her golden eyes, again he felt as though there was a strange, melancholy memory connecting him to this girl, but he couldn't quite grasp at it. It was almost like trying to hold onto water, and it slipped further away from him, the harder he tried to hold on.

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**Uh, okay...leave your thoughts in a review...please? :D**


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